Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment 3C Certification Mandatory From Aug 1; Uncertified Products Banned From

China Compulsory Certification (CCC), commonly referred to as 3C certification, for electric-vehicle charging piles formally became mandatory on Aug 1. Products without certification are prohibited from leaving the factory, being sold, imported, or being used in other business activities. The certification regime covers AC and DC power supply equipment, encompassing both home private charging piles and public commercial charging piles. At present, most mainstream equipment manufacturers have completed 3C certification, while some small and medium-sized manufacturers that could not complete certification in time are facing a short-term absence of orders and are actively seeking transformation.

In recent years, as new-energy vehicle penetration has continued to rise, charging piles have become important infrastructure serving mobility demand. In December 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued a notice deciding to impose compulsory product certification management on electric-vehicle power supply equipment. Certification covers tests of key safety indicators such as electric shock protection, short-circuit protection and fire and heat resistance, as well as on-site checks of corporate quality assurance capabilities and product consistency. The 3C certification follows the principle of 'regulating the new, not the old': charging piles already in operation before Aug 1 may continue to be used provided they meet safety requirements. As of the end of June 2026, the country had a total of 23.057 million charging infrastructure units, up 43.2% year on year. According to SAMR's 2025 sampling inspection bulletin, the failure rate for electric-vehicle charging piles was 49.1%.

3C certification applies a filing system for key components, and during the certification period companies may not arbitrarily change the specifications or suppliers of filed components. Because charging piles come in many product models, different series must be certified separately, making certification review and compliance costs a rigid expenditure for manufacturers. Some leading manufacturers have completed certification for their full product lines. In May 2025, TELD announced that its 21 kW Linghang series intelligent AC charging pile had obtained national 3C certification, becoming one of the first charging devices in the industry to be certified. Sinexcel disclosed in its 2025 annual report that its full series of charging piles had passed 3C certification review and that it had completed certification for megawatt-level charging stack products among the first. Nebula Electronics also completed certification arrangements for multiple categories and full-power charging piles before the policy took effect, covering its AC pile series and integrated DC charging-and-inspection pile series.

Some small and medium-sized manufacturers, unable to obtain certification, now find themselves with no orders and no products to sell. Some are beginning to adopt contract manufacturing models, while others are gradually scaling down production and shifting to third-party maintenance services.